There was a stretch this season when West Windsor-Plainsboro South won just once in eight games.

The drought put all the postseason talk on hold. The only words the Pirates heard came from their coach, Laurent Lassance, who challenged them to not let the season slip away.

Three impressive wins later, South is just one win away from clinching a state tournament berth.

Not only did the Pirates down a very good Lawrence team, they also rallied in the third period to stun Princeton, 3-2, on Wednesday.

“We got away from our game plan,” Lassance said of the second period against Princeton. “We got back to sticking to our system the way we have the last few games. When we do that, opportunities arise.”

The chances came, and the Pirates made the most of them.

Mike Morabito, who does so much more than shows up in the box score, got a goal late in the second period to get things started.

Brian Tso got a short-handed goal to tie it just seconds into the final period. Chris Clancy scored the game-winner off an assist from Tso.

“We have really been working well together as a team,” said Tso, who as a sophomore has more than 50 career points. “We want to have a big final push to get the seniors to the state tournament. We want to get back there.”

South has it all within its grasp.

The Tso, Clancy and Jon Matthews line has led the offensive charge during the Pirates’ three-game winning streak.

Tso has eight points with two goals and six assists, Clancy had four goals and two assists and Matthews has two goals and four assists.

“It has been a good stretch for us,” said Tso. “We have been trying to work together and produce as many points as possible.”

Right now, it’s working, and it looks like the Pirates have accepted the coach’s challenge.

Irish Welcome Gloucester Catholic

Notre Dame (15-1-2) has a contest with the Gordon American’s Gloucester Catholic (7-3) tonight at 6:45 at Iceland as ND continues to prep for the post season.

“Gloucester is a very good team and playing them tough should give us some statewide respect,” said ND coach Andrew Ducko. “We know the kids will be ready and they love to compete.”

ND showed that on Wednesday with a come-from-behind tie with Holy Ghost Prep. The Irish are looking to improve their seeding as the postseason nears.

Hopefully the North Jersey bias that seems to exist in this state won’t gobble up the Irish.

Lawrenceville Even with Delbarton

Twice the Big Red trailed by a pair of goals, but they never lost faith. By scoring three of the last four goals, they pulled even with the Jersey powerhouse.

“We are really proud of them,” said Lawrenceville coach Etienne Bilodeau. “While we couldn’t find the back of the net to take the lead first, our team kept plugging away.”

The fortunes of the Big Red got a boost with the return of Robert Cerepak from an injury. Cerepak made his presence felt right away with a pair of assists.

Bilodeau will welcome back goalie Andrew Lux next week. Zach McCloskey has done a great job between the pipes with just seven goals allowed over the last three games. Those games were against Wyoming Seminary (12-3-1), La Salle (14-3) and Delbarton (11-2-4).

“Zach McCloskey has done some good work in Andrew’s absence,” said Bilodeau.

Could the Big Red be peaking at the right time?

Ballschnieder’s Seven Stun Stevens

Kyle Ballschnieder scored six goals and added an assist for seven points to give Nottingham an 8-2 win over J. P. Stevens.

Despite their struggles throughout the season, Ballschnieder and the rest of the ‘Stars have stayed focused.

“The wins are tough to come by and when we get them it invigorates us,” said Nottingham coach Alex Chis-Luca. “It gives them the push and the motivation to get through the tough losses. They work hard every game and don’t always get rewarded for their hard work.”

Nottingham is 2-15, and although they struggle at times, they have done a very good job maintaining their composure this season.

Ballschnieder is one of those helping keep the Northstars poised.

“He realizes he has to be a leader,” said Chis-Luca of the senior. “Kyle gives his all each and every shift. He realizes that if he has to stay focused and push through the adversity. He doesn’t want to see the team and the program suffer.”

Sometimes you don’t measure a winner just by victories. Ballschnieder is definitely a winner.

Division Flag Ready to Fly for Ravens

When Robbinsville doubled up WW-P North, 8-4, the other night, it clinched at least a tie for the Colonial Division crown. The Knights need just one point in their remaining games with Hopewell Valley and Hightstown to make it two straight.

Logan Fredericks’ hat trick led the Ravens. When you look at offensive depth, Robbinsville is right there with the best of them. Fredericks, Coleman Anker, Eric Hildebrand, Dan Cox, Rich Francis and Chris Deck are all very dangerous.

What makes the Ravens so tough is the players behind them who can be just as effective.

Ice Chips•Hun’s Prep B win over Pingry sends the fourth-seeded Raiders to top-seeded Princeton Day on Tuesday. The other semifinal has the Pennington/Morristown-Beard survivor taking on No. 2 Montclair Kimberly.

•Since the loss to Lawrenceville, Princeton Day is 5-0 and has outscored the opposition 29-2. Only Hun and Seton Hall have scored against them.

•There is so much firepower on the Panthers that the fabulous year Sean Timmons often gets overlooked. He has double-digits in goals and his assists are fast approaching 30.

•Only seven dates remain in the CVC regular season. Then it’s the Mercer County Tournament and the states. Rumor has it a couple remaining regular- season games will even start on time.

•The loss to South prevented Princeton from a perfect January. It finished the month 5-1 and has things pointed toward another MCT and state run.

•Steinert’s 7-1 loss to Woodbridge put it in a tough situation for the state tournament. It must win the four remaining games to qualify.

•Hun is inching closer to the Independence League title with a 7-0-2 league mark. It might come down to Haverford’•Connor McNamara and Connor Corvino are usually behind a lot of ND’s success. They have been quality senior leaders.

•Hopes seem to be dwindling that Pennington and Hun will be able to play in the MCT. Scheduling conflicts are causing the problem. It’s a shame the two leagues didn’t communicate in the preseason to prevent the conflict.

•It would be nice if Princeton could reschedule their game with natural rival Hun. The game was on the original schedule, but the Steinert game was moved to the same date. It’d be a fun game with two Princeton schools skating for some bragging rights.

•Hightstown snapped a three-game losing streak with a nice win over Monroe. Grayson Petti had four goals and a pair of assists. They Rams have a huge Patriot Division showdown with Steinert at MCP on Friday.